Process, and projects.

by beanalreasa

So, as I mentioned a post or two ago, I have been working on several projects.

I have been making jewelry that mostly consists of beadwork and wire-wrapping.

I began last summer making necklaces and ankle bracelets, simply because I found that the process has become quite a meditative and calming activity for me.

I’ve made several pieces now, mostly for myself, as devotional jewelry, because most of the devotional jewelry that I’d purchased from retail was beginning to fall apart.

As well, I have been wearing an ankle bracelet 24/7 * for several years now, and I have found through experience that a lot of ankle bracelets (whether purchased retail or hand made by me) aren’t sturdy enough for such constant wear…or at least, the clasps aren’t. I’m still trying to work out a means of clasp attachment – or a clasp/attachment combination – that will hold for longer than four months. I’m getting there.

On the other hand, I switch out my necklaces a lot more often. I have made several pieces each that are dedicated to specific Gods, and so I often wear those necklaces for shorter periods of time. I might just phase out some of my older (retail purchased) pieces in favor of wearing exclusively handmade ones.

And, of course, there are times when I make something quick, thinking that I might wear it, and then I get the distinct impression that Someone likes it so much that I’ll end up just leaving it on Their altar…

…as is the case here.

The beading cord is recycled hemp, which I’m not familiar working with, and thus the attachment point for this toggle clasp is probably not sturdy enough for wearing for any length of time anyway.

But I have come up with other ideas to expand upon this design, as I really love the earth-toned color scheme.

*Loki seems to appreciate that I have been wearing an ankle bracelet which has a design/color scheme that honors Him and His families.

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I’ve also been working on an embroidery project that features all the Futhark runes.

When it is finished, I will be sure to post a picture of it, as it has taken me a while. Certain runes seem to be a lot more difficult for me to stitch than others, and my perfectionist tendencies aren’t serving me so well in that department.

But as it is with beading, I find embroidery a very satisfying and meditative devotional activity. I am guessing that there might not be too many people in this world who enjoy embroidering their altar cloths as much as I do, but I enjoy it very much.

I probably should switch out my altar cloths more often, or likewise, create more layers on the altars to showcase the ones I have finished.

I usually have one to three unfinished cloths at any given time, so I definitely have an altar cloth embroidery addiction, at the very least. Ahem.

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And finally, drawing.

I was puttering around DeviantArt the other day, and I realized that it has now been 3 years that I have had an account there, and yet I have never submitted any artwork. Still.

(Still, a year or more after saying that I would.)

So, I was having a conversation – no, more like an argument, honestly – with an artist friend of mine yesterday. In the course of our heated discussion, my artist-friend gave me all kinds of grief in regards to my obvious procrastination/aversion towards actually posting artwork, which led to his calling me out in his frustration, in a very Loki-esque manner:

You know what, Heathir?

You need to stop talking about doing, and…f***ing DO.

You need to either shit or get off the pot.

And it was a small thing, such a small thing, my not posting any artwork, you know.

I don’t know what I have been waiting for these past three years. I’ve never had any excuse whatsoever not to post artwork…but I kept hemming and hawing, anyway.

And there was absolutely no reason to be afraid.

So, as soon as I got off the phone with him, I went to DeviantArt, scanned, and finally posted some artwork.

And the more that I scanned, the more that I wished that I’d keep my artwork in one place in a more organized fashion.

I scanned six pages from my sketch-book. I started to wonder where I’d put some of the other sketches that I had done last summer. I began looking through my notebooks, looking specifically for my vulture sketches, and all those face and figure studies that I did last month.

I couldn’t find a lot of what I was thinking to post on DeviantArt because I have been so disorganized in storing my artwork. *sigh*

But, there’s actually artwork there now.

(There should be more, but I learned that my scanner doesn’t pick up my graphite sketches as well as I would have liked. I’ll take that as a sign that I need to draw more confidently, ie; press down a little harder with the pencils, so the scanner will pick up the lines.)

In related news, I did a few more face studies, and one figure study yesterday in preparation for a t-shirt silkscreen project that I have been putting together:

(Figure study #1: I am pleased with the leanness of the body, but I’m not as pleased with the face as much. The eyes are fair to good (right eye is clear, left is not because of erasures), and I like the slightly raised eyebrow, but the mouth, nose, and facial hair need work. And I realize that the hair on the head is all wrong.)

(Face study #1: I love the hair, and even though it’s shorter than intended, I like the flow. I like the left eye; too many erasures are muddying up the right eye, but the eye placement looks good to me. The nose seems wrong somehow, and the mouth seems a bit too wide/too stiff of an expression. Overall, He looks older than I intended, as well.)

(Face Study #2: Facial feature placement seems good, but He still looks older than I intended. Nose is better, and mouth is better. Tried to keep the raised eyebrow.)

(Face Study #3: Most of the time, I look at several photos of actual people and study their faces, and practice drawing the parts of the face several times before incorporating the details of several faces while I’m drawing one face. This was a total freehand in that this face came together all at once, rather than incorporating the various details of several faces from studying photos. This is the last, and oddly enough, the most simple face of the three that I drew. I know that this one still needs work, but I really like that He doesn’t look so…middle-aged as He did in the other ones. )

One Comment to “Process, and projects.”

I like your work. I would be interested in seeing your rune embroidery when it is done. As for the sketches you posted, your top one (short hair with short beard and mustache) is my favorite one. There I see a man who is quick of mind and body, whose eyes and smile manage to mask a deviousness while still remaining genuine. I disagree with you in your ratio of satisfaction between body and face … the body is definitely lean, but there hasn’t been as much emphasis on detail placed on the body as what you put into the face, leaving me with the impression that the work isn’t quite done yet. With the hair and beard style, perhaps playing around with the beard style wouldn’t hurt … to me, the mega-trimmed mustache doesn’t quite fit the rest of the look (lightly tousled hair, mildly shaggy beard). For that face and hairstyle, I’d look at the possibility of either a chinstrap beard or what I typically wear: a short-trimmed goatee with no mustache, with the goatee starting at the mouth corners (not a common beard style, which is part of the reason why I wear it – it also works well with a shaven head, as mine is). An ‘extended’ goatee is what is popular around where I live (where the beard is basically shaven between where the sideburns end and the jaw line begins, as well as the cheeks, leaving the traditional goatee and mustache, along with the facial hair under the full jaw). Mutton chops (think Wolverine) would also work with that face; but if your goal is a younger face, I’d stay away from too much beard along the jaw line, as this adds years to a face pretty quickly. Regarding the eyes, and in particular the ‘muddy’ effect you describe from having erased several times, I would advise you to actually go with it … the eye in your top picture looks good as it is drawn, but you could also color it in a bit to hide the eraser work and then just match the other eye. Pencil was always more forgiving for me than ink for mainly this reason … the difference between us being that you actually have skill 🙂

Regarding your anklets and bracelets, and your search for a durable clasp: I wear a pair of ghost bead bracelets that I have had for quite a while. I bought them off eBay, from a vendor named Manygoats (her first name might have been Sue, but I’m not sure). Granted, I also wear a braided leather bracelet ‘in front’ of my ghost beads, to offer them a little more protection in case I get snarleded up on something; but they have still held together remarkably well, and I also wear the ghost beads 24/7 (the leather bracelet comes off only when showering). If you would like, I can E-mail you a picture of the bracelets I wear, so you can get a look at the clasps.